Knitfitti and Yarn Bombing

Thursday evening I stopped by the Red Purl to shoot the breeze. What I walked up to was people adorning the lampposts in front of the store with knit and crochet strips.

Apparently the owner of the store next door, 'Cross the Street Collectibles, started the project as part of the "Arts in Motion" day the town was having today (Saturday).

Amy and Mary Ann climbed aboard and two lampposts were being decorated.

Here's the post in front of 'Cross the Street:

They really got a lot of strips up!!

The post Red Purl was doing was not nearly so amply decorated, so I decided to climb aboard myself. By the time I left Saturday, we had a lot more on the pole:

The bottom strip is a big piece of pop-corn yarn in bright red. It's very fun!!

Below is a closeup of a few of the higher strips:

From the bottom:
*the pink/white and yellow/black strips were there when I got there
*the pale green was a crocheted strip I made Friday night/Saturday morning
*a strip of granny squares I stitched together Friday night. I made two of them--quickest strips ever because the granny squares were donated to me with some yarn at some point; I just had to sew them together
*the orange/pink strip was started by Mary Ann, worked on by some customers with time to kill, and finished by me so I could put it up. It was very curly on the edges (as stocking stitch likes to do), so I soaked it before sewing it on, and basically wet blocked it on the pole!
*the "right half" of the blue strip was donated to me by a girl on the sidewalk (her mother made it) as I was sewing some other strips on. It wasn't big enough, so I took some blue cotton I had with me, and added to it.
*and I crocheted the top strip from some red cotton in my bag while I was sitting around at Red Purl this morning (waiting for the appearance of some cupcakes I knew were in the back!)

There's lots of room on the pole still. If you want to knit a strip, or sew together some bits and pieces (like those gauge swatches you don't know what to do with), feel free! Make it 16-17 inches (when slightly stretched). Bring it to 2nd street and sew it on the pole.

When these poles are full, they want to do the two across the street, so there's plenty of room! Join in!

While I was making things for display on 2nd street, I went ahead a made something I've been thinking of for a long time. Amy has a beautiful knocker on her door in the shape of a hand. Well, a bare hand (or wrist) is like blasphemy to a knitter! So I knit it a little wrister out of some lovely Lorna's Laces shepherd.

Amy appreciated the item and we both had the thought that we need to make the knocker some seasonal wristers!


PS: Check out my favourite yarn bombing projects:
1. the bus
2. the phone booth